A passion for excellence and discovery

Drawing on innovation and his diverse interests, Professor Kevin Hall is contributing to the University’s global research success.

The University of Newcastle is a research-led university built on the foundation of discovery and access to new knowledge. At the helm of this discovery is Professor Kevin Hall, an accomplished civil engineer and the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation).

“I have the best job on campus,” he acknowledges.

"I’m lucky to have a hand in nurturing the careers of some of our boldest and brightest."

It’s gratifying being able to bring in the next generation of experts and watch them grow as articulate, empathetic and inspiring thinkers and doers.

Balancing act

Running his own hydro technology company for seven years between his undergraduate and PhD studies, Kevin has been a visionary from the very beginning. Designing a handful of the world’s most beautiful and mechanically sound harbours, marinas and beaches before undertaking a PhD at the University of New South Wales, the Canadian native didn’t expect to “enjoy” research so much.

“I saw it purely as a business advantage,” he confesses.

“Not many engineering consultants had their doctorates in the early 1980s.”

“During my candidature I concentrated on measuring waves and understanding how they propagate through coastal structures, such as breakwaters.”

Deciding not to return to the corporate realm after receiving his award in 1986, Kevin joined Canada’s Queen’s University. As somebody who likes to be involved in a “variety of things,” he undertook research in a number of different areas.

“For a long while, my primary area of strength was numerical modelling, which uses equations and other mathematical techniques to represent natural processes,” he explains.

“A number of young and elderly people died because of a particular strain of e. coli bacteria that was present in the public drinking supply in a small town in Ontario.”

Collaborating with a team of physicists, biochemists and mechanical engineers, Kevin looked to construct an automated pathogen detection system to “ensure this wouldn’t happen again.”

“The project led to a start-up business that we built up over three or so years,” he recalls. “It was then sold to a French water consortium.”

Dually exploring water quality and its impacts on health, Kevin’s multidisciplinary effort also prepared him for successful partnerships across a number of sectors ranging from public health to coastal protection.

Several members of his research team developed design techniques for artificial surfing reefs which also provided shoreline protection.

Sense and sustainability

Kevin relocated to the University of Guelph in southwestern Ontario in 2008, signing on to become its Vice-President (Research). Though conceding the executive role to be a “one and a half time job by itself,” the distinguished educator and innovator affirms he still made plenty of room for research.

“For the past 20 years I have been working in the urban slums of India and Africa where there is no infrastructure, sanitation, or fresh drinking water,” he conveys.

“Adapting relatively simple, effective and low cost technology, my team has helped the women in these communities design and implement equipment that is easy to use and will provide fresh drinking water at the household level.”

“The hope is that they will make a business and sell the units to the areas adjacent to them.”

“It is very meaningful research and it has a lot of impact – which you see right away.”

Down under

Kevin returned to Australia in March 2014, accepting the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) at the University of Newcastle. Continuing to work with his head and lead with his heart, the sharp strategist admits this newest role is as demanding as it is rewarding.

“I’m an enthusiastic and vocal supporter of our researchers,” he shares.

“One of my main responsibilities is to promote their efforts to local communities, state and federal politicians, businesses and non-government organisations, and international institutions.”

“Getting to know what we’re doing here on campus is a really cool part of the job.”

Kevin is also pushing the frontiers of a burgeoning academic arena – interdisciplinarity.

“By being made aware of who’s investigating what, I can link people together, like our powerhouse respiratory medicine network with scientists from the Hunter Valley, Sweden, Britain, North America and Singapore,” he affirms.

“Australia is moving more and more into an ‘Innovation Agenda,’ which will see us use knowledge to drive the economy and buffer ourselves against some of the global crises that are occurring around commodity prices.”

“This, by default, means we need to start working in teams of varying skills and professional fields.”

Outstanding research leadership

Following an extensive international search, the University of Newcastle appointed Professor Kevin Hall to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation).

An accomplished researcher in the field of civil engineering, Professor Hall has had a distinguished academic career holding senior academic leadership roles in universities in Canada, most recently as the Vice-President for Research and External Partnerships at the University of Guelph in Ontario.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Caroline McMillen, said Professor Hall's outstanding academic leadership experience and strong research record would be key to driving forward the University's ambitious research and innovation agenda.

"This is an exciting time to be joining the University of Newcastle. Our NeW Directions strategic plan puts forward a clear set of aspirations and an ambition to be a global leader in research driving world-class innovation."

Professor Hall said he was delighted to have the opportunity to work with the talented researchers at the University of Newcastle who hold an international reputation for research excellence.

"My aim is to work with colleagues to build on the institution's strong culture of innovation and impact in research and student training, and to engage fully with its diverse partner and stakeholder groups – particularly industry – at the regional, national and international levels."

Professor Hall studied a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science at Queen's University in Canada, and completed his PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of New South Wales.

As the University of Guelph's Vice-President for Research and External Partnerships, Professor Hall has responsibility for all aspects of the institution's research portfolio including strategy and policy, integrity and compliance, research income generation and stakeholder relations. Under Professor Hall's tenure, research with industry partners increased by 80 per cent.

Prior to joining Guelph in 2009, he held senior academic leadership positions at Queen's University including founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Water and the Environment, University Research Fellow and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering.

Career Summary

Biography

Professor Kevin Hall joined the University as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) in March 2014 and is responsible for the University’s diverse and comprehensive research enterprise and acts as the University’s chief research officer. Professor Hall was previously Vice President (Research and External Partnerships) at the University of Guelph, Canada and prior to that held various roles at Queen’s University, Canada over a 20-year period, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada University Research Fellow, Department Head (Civil Engineering), Director of the Centre for Water and the Environment, and Chair of the Advisory Board for the Institute for Population and Public Health.

Professor Hall carries out transdisciplinary research across a number of major themes including water quality modeling, development of environmental monitoring and pathogen detection systems, syndromic surveillance, and water and health in marginalised communities. His research has been incorporated into Engineering Design Manuals both nationally and internationally.

Professor Hall is a current board member of Intersect (Australia), Newcastle Innovation (Australia) and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (Australia). He is a past board member of Bioconversion Network, TRIUMF (Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics), C4 Network (Technology transfer consortium), Canadian Bovine Mastitis Network, Guelph-Waterloo Biotechnology Partnership, the Accelerator Centre, SHARCNET (high performance computing network), Allergen (Canadian Centre of Excellence), Pathogen Detection Systems (spin-off company) and the Lifestyle Research Network. Professor Hall is a member of a number of professional and learned engineering societies.

Research ExpertiseKey areas of research include water quality modelling, development of environmental monitoring and pathogen detection systems, syndromic surveillance and water and health in marginalized communities.

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales

Bachelor of Science, Queens University Ontario - Canada

Master of Science (Engineering), Queens University Ontario - Canada

Keywords

bioengineering

coastal engineering

coastal hydrodynamics

pathogen detection systems

water quality and health

water quality and marginalised communities

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

090509

Water Resources Engineering

50

090599

Civil Engineering not elsewhere classified

50

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research &

University of NewcastleOffice - DVC (Research and Innovation)Australia

Book (2 outputs)

Wave protection for an offshore rockfill structure was developed using two and three dimensional hydraulic model studies. The wave protection scheme, designed to survive a design ... [more]

Wave protection for an offshore rockfill structure was developed using two and three dimensional hydraulic model studies. The wave protection scheme, designed to survive a design storm having a peak significant wave height of 33 feet, consists of a 75 foot wide outer berm of 3.9 to 19 ton angular quarry stone placed between elevations of -55 and +10 feet (MSL) and a conventional two stone armour layer between +10 and +30 feet (MSL). The stability of the structure is developed during early periods of wave action as stones are moved and the outer berm is reshaped into a stable profile. Test results indicate that if design wave conditions are exceeded, rapid disintegration of the armour layer would not occur. The armour system is designed so that essentially 100 per cent of the quarry is utilized and so that it can be built using land based equipment that primarily consists of a truck dumping operation. (A)

Studies the history of armour system design and examines the performance of these systems in protecting rubble mound breakwaters. Quarried stone systems include random placement, ... [more]

Studies the history of armour system design and examines the performance of these systems in protecting rubble mound breakwaters. Quarried stone systems include random placement, regular placement, and on alternative scheme. Considers design formulae for these systems and some design limitations. Randomly placed concrete armour units are often of complex shape for better interlocking. Occasionally the units are reinforced. Regularly placed concrete units can show high stability but construction may be difficult. Examines formulae for estimating the weight of an armour unit, noting limitations of the Hudson formula. Notes the differences among various model studies to determine stability of the armour layer. Discusses the causes of recent rubble mound failures, and hence develops recommended design procedures. Discussion is on pages 121- 132. (C.J.U.)

An array of perforated hollow hemispherical shaped artificial reefs (HSAR) can be used as a submerged breakwater to provide opportunities for environmental enhancement, aesthetics... [more]

An array of perforated hollow hemispherical shaped artificial reefs (HSAR) can be used as a submerged breakwater to provide opportunities for environmental enhancement, aesthetics and wave protection in coastal areas due to their characteristics that are not found in conventional breakwaters. These characteristics include the ability to promote water circulation and provide a fish habitat enhancement capability. In this paper, a study of the parameters influencing wave transmission through the proposed submerged breakwater is presented based on two dimensional tests using regular and irregular water waves conducted at Queens University Coastal Engineering Research Laboratory (QUCERL). The influences of wave steepness (Hi/gT2), reef proportion (h/B), submergence depth (h/d) and reef configurations on wave transmission was studied. Mathematical models for wave transmission were developed using Multiple Regression Analysis and can be used to predict the performance of the proposed submerged breakwater.

Discusses a cheaper approach to breakwater construction using smaller rock than required by conventional breakwaters. The berm approach is based on the principle that the thicker ... [more]

Discusses a cheaper approach to breakwater construction using smaller rock than required by conventional breakwaters. The berm approach is based on the principle that the thicker the armour layer, the smaller the stones needed to protect against wave action. The relatively high porosity permits wave dissipation over a large area, increasing the stability of the breakwater. The berm approach uses locally available material, with the smaller fraction being used for the core of the structure and the larger fraction for the armour. Shape and dimension of the armour protection is determined from model studies. Compares cross sections and profiles of bermed and conventional breakwaters. (C.J.U.)

Hall K, MacDonald M, Srinivasan S, Syed Ali I, Rajagopalan P, Aronson K, 'Applying an Extended Ladder of Participation for the Development of a Community-Managed Safe Water System in a Marginalized South Asian Community' (2012)

2010

Herstein LM, Filion YR, Hall KR, 'EIO-LCA based multi-objective design of water distribution systems with NSGA-II', Integrating Water Systems - Proceedings of the 10th International on Computing and Control for the Water Industry, CCWI 2009 (2010) [E1]

Dynamically stable or berm breakwaters are structures in which the armour layer is comprised of a wide range of stone sizes and undergoes reshaping in response to wave action. As ... [more]

Dynamically stable or berm breakwaters are structures in which the armour layer is comprised of a wide range of stone sizes and undergoes reshaping in response to wave action. As a result of this wave action, a stable profile is achieved. The effect of the gradation of armour stones and the amount of rounded stones in the armour on dynamically stable breakwaters was assessed in a two dimensional wave flume. A total of 52 series of tests were undertaken at the Coastal Engineering Research Laboartory of Queen's University, Kingston, Canada using irregular waves. Profiles of the structure during the various stages of reshaping were measured using a profiler developed for this study. Four gradations of armour stones were used giving a range in uniformity coefficient (D "SUB 85" /D "SUB 15" ) of 1.35 to 5.4. The core of the breakwaters was relatively permeable. The volume of stones and the initial berm width required for development of a stable profile along with the extent to which the toe of the structure progressed seaward were chosen as representative parameters of the reshaped breakwater. The results indicated that the toe width formed as a result of reshaping and the volume of stones required for reshaping were dependent on the gradation of the armour stone. The initial berm width required for reshaping was found to be dependent on both the gradation and the percentage of rounded stones in the armour. (A)

Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Total current UON EFTSL

Current Supervision

The Role of Infragravity Waves in Surf and Swash Zone DynamicsPhD (Environmental Sc), Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of NewcastlePrincipal Supervisor

2016

PhD

Tsunami Modelling in Australian Estuarine EnvironmentsPhD (Environmental Sc), Faculty of Science and Information Technology, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

2015

Masters

Resilience-Enabling Technologies: The Role of Strength-Based Participation in Developing Appropriate Technology.M Philosophy (Building), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, The University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

Research Collaborations

The map is a representation of a researchers co-authorship with collaborators across the globe. The map displays the number of publications against a country, where there is at least one co-author based in that country. Data is sourced from the University of Newcastle research publication management system (NURO) and may not fully represent the authors complete body of work.

The University Of Newcastle (UON) has achieved the highest possible '5'
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Simulation
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more than $3.9 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council
(NHMRC) in its 2014 funding round.

The Hunter Cancer Research Alliance (HCRA) has become the first regionally based organisation to receive full Translational Cancer Research Centre status and an accompanying $6.5-million funding injection from the Cancer Institute NSW.